barangay ginebra

LA Tenorio scored just two points, but dazzled with 10 assists and nine rebounds, while Mark Caguioa led six players in double figures as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel cruised to an opening night victory over GlobalPort, 110-90, in the Philippine Cup Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

The Gin Kings gave the sellout crowd of 18,901 plenty to cheer for with Tenorio orchestrating the show. Ginebra dished out 32 assists en route to 53 percent shooting from the field.

“Malaking bagay talaga si LA. He gives a lot of intangibles. He provides poise in the end. That’s why we got him,” said Ginebra head coach Siot Tanquingcen.

“We need someone to take charge, take control, make plays and make it easier and LA did that for his teammates.”

GlobalPort sliced a 24-point Ginebra lead to just eight, 94-86, with 5:18 remaining in the game.

Tenorio, who was acquired in a five-team trade in the offseason, anchored an 11-2 blitz capped by Caguioa’s three-point play for a 105-88 advantage to pu the game away with just 1:27 left in the match.

Rookies Keith Jensen and Chris Ellis gave a good account of themselves, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Two-time Most Valuable Player Willie Miller paced all scorers with 26 points, but the squad’s other superstar Gary David was held to just nine. The league’s top local scorer for the past three seasons shot miserably (1-of-10) from the field and committed six of his team’s 21 turnovers. GlobalPort rookie Alfred Mandani had an impressive 13-point performance.

Despite earlier pronouncements that they did not want to trade LA Tenorio, the Alaska Aces have agreed to a deal that would send the star point guard to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

According to sources privy to the negotiations, the Alaska Aces have agreed in principle to part with Tenorio, Wesley Gonzales, and Hans Thiele in a blockbuster deal that would net them GlobalPort guard JVee Casio and Petron veteran Dondon Hontiveros, who has reportedly been informed about the deal.

But the deal is in limbo because of GlobalPort owner Mikee Romero’s refusal to part with Casio without getting valuable pieces in return.

Tenorio is coming off a banner performance for the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national squad, winning Most Valuable Player honors in the squad’s title-winning campaign in the 34th William Jones Cup.

“The Alaska organization is proud of his contributions and that’s a big thing for us,” Alaska Aces team manager Joaqui Trillo.

But Alaska Milk Corporation chairman Wilfred Steven Uytengsu was reportedly no thrilled about Tenorio’s pronouncements that he would continue to suit up for SMART-Gilas in the team’s campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup in September.

Trillo earlier revealed that the team received feelers for Tenorio from teams belonging to San Miguel Corporation and the MVP Group of Companies.

“If they want him they have to pay the price,” said Trillo less than two weeks ago. “But we intend to keep LA, he’s the face of the franchise.”

Apparently, that’s no longer the case, with Tenorio on the way out.

But sources say that it’s only a matter of time before GlobalPort agrees to trade Casio, last year’s top overall pick.

According to one insider, parting with Casio was a consequence of GlobalPort owner Mikee Romero’s purchase of the Tigers franchise. The PBA team was originally offered for sale by Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. to San Miguel Corporation, which had right of first refusal to any sale of the league franchise. Instead, it was Romero’s Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. who ended up acquiring the Tigers.

If the Casio trade pushes through, only Gary David will be part of GlobalPort from the starting lineup of a Powerade squad that made a Cinderella run to the Philippine Cup finals last year. Marcio Lassiter and Doug Kramer were traded prior to the Governors’ Cup last season, while Sean Anthony was dealt in a draft-day transaction.

Barangay Ginebra booked a ticket to the semifinals on the heroics of KG Canaleta, who had his best game in the conference against his former team, B-MEG.

Canaleta scored 25 points to steer the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings to the semifinals via a 93-84 demolition of the Llamados in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Friday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Canaleta finished with four three-pointers, and scored nine points in the fourth period to key a decisive 17-4 run by the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings that turned a 74-all standoff to a 91-78 lead.

“KG played exceptionally well,” said Barangay Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen in praise of the forward, who only played in six of the Gin Kings’ nine games in the elimination round.

“The good thing about KG, maski hindi siya nagagamit, hindi siya nagri-relax sa practice. I’m surprised that he played very well, but on the other hand I’m happy for him dahil nagbunga yugn tyaga niya.”

The win allowed the Gin Kings to join the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters in the semifinals. The two teams will get the luxury of having a weeklong break as they await the results of the quarterfinal round.

The loss dropped B-MEG to the quarterfinals, where it faces its former coach, Ryan Gregorio, and the rest of the Meralco Bolts on Sunday for their best-of-three showdown.

Barako Bull and Alaska Milk collide in the other quarterfinals pairing.

The Gin Kings survived the game despite missing the services of Mark Caguioa for majority of the second half.

The six-foot guard suffered two cuts on his right eyelid after hitting the floor with 7:46 left in the third period. Caguioa went straight to the dugout and never returned, but that didn’t bring down the spirits of the Barangay Ginebra Kings, who rallied after being 11 points down in the first half.

After over four years away from the PBA, former Tanduay and Sta. Lucia Realty coach Alfrancis Chua can’t wait to sit on the Barangay Ginebra bench as newly-appointed consultant when the Commissioner’s Cup begins Feb. 10.

“I’m excited to be back,” said the 45-year-old Alfrancis Chua, reunited with his Tanduay players Eric Menk and Rudy Hatfield at Ginebra. “Who wouldn’t be excited to join the league’s most popular team? It’s an honor to work with the San Miguel group. I can’t believe it happened so quickly. I got a call from (San Miguel Corp. sports director) Noli (Eala) last week asking about my availability. Then, he called again last Wednesday. Two days later, I attended my first Ginebra practice at Xavier Gym.”

Alfrancis Chua said he was welcomed warmly by the coaching staff and players. “I respect coach Siot (Tanquingcen) a lot,” he said. “Coach Siot is a true professional, he knows his stuff and he’s very hard-working. His attention to detail is incredible. He’s open to suggestions from his staff and players. How I’ll fit in depends on what Coach Siot wants me to do. The way he runs the team, it’s great. I hope to be able to contribute to the team’s performance even in a small way.”

With Tanduay, Alfrancis Chua brought the team to four finals in six conferences but never won a championship. With Sta. Lucia, he was coach Norman Black’s assistant when the Realtors captured the 2001 Governors Cup crown. Chua later succeeded Black at the Sta. Lucia helm. Alfrancis Chua was also Black’s assistant at Pop Cola for two years. Before jumping to the PBA, Alfrancis Chua took Tanduay to nine PBL finals and bagged seven titles.

“In my first PBA conference as Tanduay head coach, we went to the finals,” said Alfrancis Chua. “I think Ginebra has a chance to make many more finals. I can see the team winning again. Kerby (Raymundo) makes us tough inside. He’s a go-to guy who can free up our wings. Dylan (Ababou) is young and athletic, can drive strong to the hoop and shoot the jumper. Mark (Caguioa) and Jay-Jay (Helterbrand) are stars but they don’t have a star complex. At practice, they push themselves to the limit. Their attitude is inspiring. I was surprised to find out how hard they work. I’m not sure if fans realize how valuable Mark and Jay-Jay are to the team. As for Rudy, he couldn’t believe I had joined the team when we first saw each other at practice. And when I saw Eric, we embraced like long-lost brothers. Eric just got the go-signal from doctors to play.”

Alfrancis Chua said his basketball philosophy is right down Ginebra’s alley. “I like explosive, exciting, up-and-down basketball which is what Ginebra plays so I think I fit right in,” he said. “As a consultant on the bench, I’ll try to give the team a little more energy. I feel the sky’s the limit for this team and I’m just so happy I can be a part of its future.”

Alfrancis Chua said he’ll be back with his trademark long hair. “What a way to start the new year,” he said. “I can’t get any luckier than being invited to join Ginebra. When I was away from the PBA, I continued to be involved with basketball although I hardly watched the PBA on TV. For a while, I was the NCAA commissioner in the juniors division and worked with the technical staff in the UAAP. At the moment, I am the commissioner of the Tiong Lian league of Chinese high schools.”

Alfrancis Chua said he’s looking forward to the start of the second conference with import Chris Alexander. “I didn’t watch Chris when he played with Ginebra four years ago so I can’t compare how he’s playing now with how he played before,” he said. “But I can see he’s getting into game-shape. For sure, he’ll make us more competitive.”

Alfrancis Chua said joining the Ginebra coaching staff gives him the opportunity to learn more about the game. The assistant coaches are Allan Caidic, Juno Sauler and Art de la Cruz. “Allan’s always been my idol,” said Alfrancis Chua. “Juno and Art know the game well. They’re all very competent and knowledgeable. I’m excited to learn from them and share whatever ideas I have. Samboy (Lim) as our manager is another advantage for us.”

A former UST cager, Alfrancis Chua admitted he didn’t realize how much he missed the PBA until he showed up for his first Ginebra practice last Friday. He is married to the former Jocelyn Penaloza, his high school sweetheart, with four children, Marc Francis, 17, Kyle Francis, 15, Nathan Francis 13 and Cody Francis, 10.

Here’s another PBA Trade rumors brought to you by Sportspinas.com. 10th time All-Star Kerby Raymundo is likely to be traded to Ginebra.

If plans come to fruition, versatile big man Kerby Raymundo could be wearing a Ginebra uniform when the PBA Commissioner’s Cup starts next month.

Multiple sources told InterAKTV that B-MEG is working on a deal to send the 31-year-old forward to the Gin Kings. The Llamados could receive a package that includes Ginebra center Enrico Villanueva and forward JC Intal.

But since the two franchises are sister teams under the San Miguel Corporation umbrella, PBA rules allow no direct player transactions to be made between them. A source privy to the negotiations said that Barako Bull could serve as the third franchise in the deal, and that more players could be involved.

A 10-time all-star selection and a three-time member of the PBA mythical squad, Raymundo has been part of the Purefoods franchise since 2002, winning the Governors’ Cup finals Most Valuable Player award in his first tournament with the team. After missing most of last season due to injury, the former Letran stalwart made a triumphant return for the Llamados in the Philippine Cup, ranking first on the team in assists, second in rebounding, and third in scoring.

Curiously, B-MEG, Ginebra, and Barako Bull were also involved in a blockbuster deal last conference that sent Llamados forward Rico Maierhofer and Energy rookie Allein Maliksi to the Gin Kings.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters sweeps Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings to book a Semi finals match up against Powerade Tigers in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The Elasto Painters used some of their good start to finish off Barangay Ginebra and fashion a
coasting 106-91 victory Wednesday for a sweep of their PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals series at
the Ynares Center here.

Jeff Chan scored a game-high 22 points to lead a balanced attack by Rain or Shine as it followed up
its 112-105 overtime victory in the best-of-three duel’s opener last Friday to arrange a semifinal
meeting with early qualifier Powerade.

Not bad at all for a team that has gone to the semis only twice before since joining the league in
2006 and did not raise much expectations after winding up the eliminations at No. 5 for the showdown
with Barangay Ginebra, winner of its last five elims games for a No. 4 ranking.

“It was really a big challenge for us, taking on Ginebra in the quarters,” said head coach Yeng
Guiao. “We’re taking it as a very good sign for a young team such as ours to play under pressure.
(Our players) have toughened up. I just hope we can bring it to the next round.”

Despite getting buried under early by Rain or Shine’s 41-point explosion right in the opening
quarter and falling behind by 24 points twice Barangay Ginebra kept its poise and even trimmed the
deficit to just 13 in the third period and 14 in the fourth.

The Elasto Painters managed to weather the storm each time, however, and went into the final two
minutes with a 104-81 spread by also getting it done on the other end of the court.

“We kept our game plan simple,” related Guiao. “Our goal really was just to double team their
guards, contain their guards and see what happens. Our offense just takes care of itself.”

Mike Cortez finished with a team-high 17 points, with 12 coming in the fourth when all was lost.
Barangay Ginebra’s other backcourt men — Mark Caguioa, Rob Labagala, Jayjay Helterbrand and Ronald
Tubid — combined for 25 points but all were hardly factors.

As a team, Rain or Shine finished making 35 of 82 shots to Ginebra’s 31-for-80. But the Elasto
Painters went 22-for-42 in the first half and made six of 10 three-point attempts in the opening
quarter alone to get the momentum it hardly relinquished.

“I think the key today was we took away their initiative from the very start,” noted Guiao. “We got
a really good start and that was the key in this game. We were having a good shooting night tonight
so I just asked the boys to shoot whenever they feel it’s a good shot. Fortunately, our shots were
going in.”

After going scoreless in the first game, Ronjay Buenafe atoned with 13 points while Ronnie Matias,
Beau Belga and Ryan Arana had at least 11 each to make up for Paul Lee’s eight markers.

Lee made 19 points in the first game but only had a triple to show after the first three quarters.
He still finished the game, however and his five-point cluster capped Rain or Shine’s 9-0 surge from
a 95-81 count.

Rain or Shine scored 43 fourth-quarter points to complete its comeback from a 17-point deficit last
Friday and the Elasto Painters merely seemed to pick up from where they left off, scattering 41 in
the opening period to race to a 17-point lead.

Guiao’s charges actually led by as much as 33-15 following Gabe Norwood’s left corner triple.

Barangay Ginebra did manage a charge of its own, pouncing on Rain or Shine’s 1-for-10 shooting and
rallying behind Billy Mamaril and Caguioa for an 11-2 blast that whittled the deficit to 50-63, 7:23
left in the third quarter.

Whatever chance the Kings may have had of turning the game’s complexion around vanished, however,
when Mamaril missed a jumper and Belga blocked Tubid in their next two possessions.

That gave Rain or Shine the opening to steadily pull away anew, with Belga, Buenafe, Chan and Arana
showing the way to a 78-61 lead going into the last 12 minutes of play.

The hot shooting started to taper off in the second quarter, but Rain or Shine continued to get the
job done on the other end as it stretched the cushion to a high of 24 points twice before settling
for a 58-37 halftime count.

Meanwhile, PBA commissioner Chito Salud bared the league will be donating a total P1.1 million for
those ravaged by Typhoon Sendong in the South.

Salud said the PBA board has approved the giving of P1 million to the Philippine National Red Cross
and P100,000 to Gawad Kalinga for said agencies to handle the distribution of the funds to the
victims. (NC)

Barangay Ginebra waxed hot in the final period and pulled off an impressive 96-82 demolition of defending champion Talk ‘N Text in the final game of the eliminations of the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

The Kings outscored the Tropang Texters in the final 12 minutes, 32-17, to pull away from a tight contest and end the initial phase of the tournament with a five-game winning streak for a 9-5 win-loss record.

Mark Caguioa had another sterling performance for Ginebra with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Mike Cortez added 17 points, 12 of which came on three-pointers in the second period.

JC Intal and Enrico Villanueva each had 15 points for the Gin Kings, whose quarterfinal foe was already determined prior to the game following Rain or Shine’s win over Alaska in the first match.

“It will be tough. Tinalo kami sa opening game by one point. They’re a pretty good team but we will be ready against them,” said Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen about Rain or Shine.

Ginebra’s did B-MEG a little favor with the win, as the Llamados ended up the No. 1 seed. B-MEG and Talk ‘N Text were tied with the best record at 10-4, but the Llamados had the better quotient. It was the first time in five conferences that Talk ‘N Text did not end up with the top seed.

The Texters were up by two points, 69-67, on Larry Fonacier’s two free throws before Caguioa, Cortez, Intal and Willy Wilson joined forces for a decisive 25-8 run to pull Ginebra away at 92-77 with 3:28 remaining.

After the onslaught, Talk ‘N Text coach Chot Reyes decided to pull out his starters.

Rain or Shine set up an interesting date with Barangay Ginebra in the next round after beating the ousted Alaska squad, 91-85, Sunday at the end of the elimination phase of the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum

Even without head coach Yeng Guiao and top rookie Paul Lee, the Elasto Painters just had enough tools to thwart the upset-conscious Aces and end their elimination stage campaign in back-to-back wins for a 9-5 record.

Beau Belga and Ronjay Buenafe each had 14 points for Rain or Shine to lead the team’s balanced scoring.

Larry Rodriguez added 12 points while Jervy Cruz and Ronnie Matias netted 10 apiece for the Elasto Painters, who played without Guiao, who had to attend an important commitment in Pampanga, and Lee, who rested his injured left shin.

They will face the Kings in the best-of-three quarterfinal series on Friday.

“I think against Ginebra, we can match up better because they don’t have dominant big men except for Eric Menk and they have also strong wing players,” said assistant mentor Caloy Garcia, who subbed for Guiao in the game.

“Ginebra is playing great basketball but I think we have a better match-up against them.”

The Elasto Painters have yet to win a playoff series against Ginebra, losing in the 2011 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals, 2-1, and in their 2009 Fiesta Conference best-of-seven semifinal duel, 4-2.

Cyrus Baguio led all scorers with 21 points for the Aces, who failed to make it past the elimination for just the third time in the last 32 conferences.

LA Tenorio and Sonny Thoss each had 12 points for coach Joel Banal, who took over the helm of Alaska from Tim Cone prior the start of the season. Banal and the Aces finished No. 9 with a 3-11 mark.

Alaska was still in the game in the early part of the fourth after Jay-R Reyes scored, before Cruz and seldom-used Jonathan Uyloan anchored a decisive 15-7 exchange to put the game out of reach, 87-77, with 3:20 remaining.

Garcia hopes that Lee could suit up on Friday against the Kings, who are always a dangerous opponent with the crowd behind them.

Holder of a 10-3 (win-loss) card, the league-leading Texters are already assured of a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals together with No. 2 B-MEG (10-4).

But a victory in their 6:30 p.m. encounter against the league’s crowd darlings will give the telecommunications franchise the outright top spot where they just need a win over Powerade in the playoffs to march into the semifinal round.

A Talk ‘N Text loss will forge a two-way tie on top along with B-MEG, but the Texters will be relegated to No. 2 as the Llamados own the playoff tiebreaker. If Talk ‘N Text drops to No. 2, they will face No. 7 Barako.

The Texters will are still going to miss top playmaker Jimmy Alapag’s services, though back up guards Ryan Reyes and Jared Dillinger are likely to suit up.

“We’re hoping that JD (Jared Dillinger) and Ryan can play (Sunday) but that will be a game-time decision,” said Texters coach Chot Reyes. “Jimmy is still out. Still, we will go all out to try and get the W (win) and gain momentum for the playoffs.”

But the Kings, although already assured of a berth in the best-of-three quarterfinal round, are also looking to win their final outing in the eliminations in the hope of avoiding a playoff showdown with sister-team Petron Boosters.

A Ginebra (8-5) loss and a win by Rain or Shine (8-5), which takes on also-ran Alaska in the 4:15 p.m. opening game, will have the Kings sliding down to No. 6 and a best-of-three face-off with the Boosters, while forging a Rain or Shine-Meralco match-up in the other quarterfinal series.

The Kings are currently riding a four-game winning run.

“We have to stay sharp mentally and physically for the transition game of TNT and stay focused on our defense,” said Kings’ coach Siot Tanquingcen.

Victories and losses by both Ginebra and Rain or Shine will have Petron claiming the No. 2 spot. The Kings are going to finish fifth behind Rain or Shine, and Meralco will be relegated to sixth place.

A Ginebra win, and a Rain or Shine defeat will have the Kings finishing as the third-ranked team. Petron then goes down to No. 4 while Rain or Shine and Meralco will end up at fifth and sixth, respectively. — JVP, GMA News